


And I'll never not take your hand

by everything_else



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Marriage Proposal, seriously these boys are killing me, toothrotting bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 19:31:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12800820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everything_else/pseuds/everything_else
Summary: There’s a lot of them together, curled around each other every which way: at home, at parties. There’s one Eskild took on the sofa at the Kollektivet of Even asleep in Isak’s lap. Isak is looking down at him, reverent, stroking gently through his hair.There’s a video of Isak trying to rap, and fuck if that’s not Jonas’ fault. Then there’s Eskild with an arm around each of them at Pride.Trips to IKEA, Isak lying on the floor in frustration after they’d just built a wardrobe inside out. Eating pizza on the floor because they didn’t have a table. Their first Christmas tree, which was tiny, with a picture of Baz Luhrmann taped to the top.Dust falling in front of their curtains. Isak’s curved back while he got dressed in the morning.





	And I'll never not take your hand

Isak walked up the road to their home. It was early November and the cold air grazed his cheeks and made his fingers curl up into his palms. A few stars were visible over the glow of the city, cool lights in a winter sky.

It was Friday and Isak was home late. It was nothing serious, just a few complications on the ward; he wasn’t working in intensive care at the moment so his days were easier than they had been. All the same, the sight of their little rented house, small and messy and glowing at the windows, was one of the most comforting things he’d ever seen.

He unlocked the door and stepped into the welcome warmth of the hallway. It was narrow, a radiator taking up vital space and a heap of shoes right in middle. They didn’t even all belong to them. How drunk do you have to be that you leave behind your shoes?

Isak rested his hand on the radiator while he added his to the pile and dropped the rucksack with his scrubs in it. He was about to call out to Even when he came out from the bedroom, looking warm and beautiful.

“Hey baby.”

“Hi.”

Even caught him by the waist and Isak rested his chin in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck for a minute, breathing in his warmth and cologne, and then lifted for a kiss, which Even gave to him.

“They kept you back again.” Said Even. “You were supposed to finish early today.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, love.”

They had been together for almost seven years, and coming home to Even was still the best part of Isak’s day.

“I know. But I said I’d be home early and then I just got behind with my rounds and stuff. You know Mari? Her leg is really infected. It will be fine but, yeah. Anyway. Not very sexy.”

Even smiled fondly, tilting his head slightly and drawing Isak in for another kiss.

“Everything you say is sexy.”

Isak huffed against his skin.

Even kissed him, soft and lingering. It wasn’t like their usual kisses when Isak got home from work, there was more feeling in it, and Isak didn’t quite know what it was. But Even looked really good, so can you blame him for deepening the kiss a little? He’s had a long day, and all he wanted to feel was his boyfriends mouth on him.

“You look really good” murmured Isak.

Even pulled back and smiled when Isak chased his lips.

“You still want to go out?”

“Yeah, of course” said Isak. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

 

They caught a tram at 20:40 from the centre. They were headed away from town, the opposite to most people at this time, so their carriage was almost empty. Even sat by the window and Isak leaned his head on his shoulder. Their hands were joined, Isak’s partially covered by the sleeve of his grey hoodie. Even looked so beautiful in his white shirt, but he insisted that Isak didn’t have time to change, and Isak was secretly pleased that he could stay snug. He brought his other hand to cover Even’s.

“Your hand’s cold” he murmered, and he blew on it and rubbed to try to get it warm.

Even kissed his cheek.

“Are you alright?” Isak asked.

Even nodded, but there was something about it that he didn’t quite buy.

“Are you sure? Did something happen today?”

“No” Even told him.

Isak rested his head back onto his boyfriend’s shoulder. Even had been a bit off the last few days, but he assumed it had been work stress. He’d quit his job at NRK a few months ago to work for an independent film company, which Isak had fully supported. It didn’t pay as well as NRK so Even had picked up a few shifts at Kaffebrenneriet, even though he didn’t have to. It wasn’t ideal, but they made it work. Isak knew it was the right decision. This new company would be amazing for Even, but it was still early days.

“What did you do then?” Isak asked.

“Nothing much. Just meetings.”

“All day?”

Even hummed, brushing a hand through Isak’s hair.

“I actually took this afternoon off.” He said.

“Oh? Why?”

“Just to do some writing.”

Even shifted a bit and Isak lifted his head.

“What were you writing?”

“Babe?” Even asked, eyebrows raised like when he was teasing Isak.

“Yeah?”

“Please stop asking questions.”

Isak narrowed his eyes for a few seconds, and then settled back onto his shoulder.

“Okay.”

Isak decided he wasn’t going to think too much right now. He was just content to be out with his boyfriend. He’d go anywhere Even wanted, and it wasn’t unusual for Even to not tell him where.

He felt Even lean his cheek against his hair and he relaxed under the weight. He watched the city slip by, bright lights moving behind their reflection.

Even pulled him up when the tram stopped a few minutes later and they got off at a place not far from their old flat.

“What are we doing here?” asked Isak, tense to the cold. He should really have been more annoyed about this, but how could he be when Even’s eyes were shining like that.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Of course, I trust you.”

“Okay. We have to run.”

The thing is, Isak will never be able not to take Even’s hand when it’s held out to him. Their fingers interlocked and then they were running. Isak’s feet should have been aching, but he couldn’t feel them. He couldn’t feel the cold against his skin or the doubts in his mind, because Even was smiling, and he looked so alive, so beautiful, under the golden streetlights.

Even’s legs were longer than his, and even though he tried to match Isak’s pace, every few strides their arms would tug, like tethered boats moving together and apart.

They didn’t let go until they were panting outside the flat, eyes and breath misty from the cold.

“Even” Isak breathed. “What are we doing here?”

Even didn’t answer him.

It was on the stairwell that Isak started to realise that something was going on. Most people would have realised sooner, but Even liked to take him places at dusk.

This wasn’t just any place, though. This was their old home, their first home. They hadn’t been here in four years, and now Isak was standing outside the door trying to swallow a lump in his throat.

Even pulled out a key and Isak was going to say something when Even pressed a kiss to his lips. His head was spinning with nerves, questions, possibilities, but the kiss was enough to ground him. It was simple, just the feeling of Even’s lips on his.

They rested their foreheads together and Isak let out a breath. This was where he felt safest: the little bit of space between them when they looked at each other like this. Loving, focused, calm. There was nothing more reassuring than having Even’s blue eyes on his.

After a few moments Even swallowed, pulled back, and opened the door.

Inside it was dark. The first thing Isak noticed was that it smelled different. It wasn’t their smell: coffee and weed, trainers and laundry and cologne. It had always smelled like that, probably a little bit too strongly, but they were so used to it and now their house smelled the same; though hopefully not as much as when they were teenagers.

They were so young, and these rooms were where they found each other.

“Ev…“

Even was silent as he led Isak into the bedroom. Isak could make out the furniture, which had barely changed from when they lived there. On the bedside table was the projector he had bought Even for Christmas, which was projecting onto the wall at the foot of the bed. It was the same wall that had once displayed all the photos and drawings and random shit that made them laugh that now covered the wall in their kitchen. Isak remembered blue-tacking them up when they first moved in together, seeing the contents of their two brains overlapping on the wall.

Even guided Isak to sit at the foot of the bed. Then he went back and started the projector rolling.

It was snapshots of their life: milk billowing in Even’s coffee, Isak’s ink stained fingers while he worked, rain drops against the window while they washed up to the sound of the radio. They were all stunning, even shots of the mess of building materials in the hall when they first moved in. There was dizzy footage of a festival they went to with the boys: bright lights and drunken kisses. Then there’s the afternoon a few months ago that they spent lying on their backs, smoking on the grass in Elias’ back garden.

Eva and Isak walk arm in arm, drunk as mice, under a violet sky. The exquisite ceilings of Bahia Palace in Morroco and sunlight on the white sheets in their bed. A mop of blonde hair peeking out from the duvet, and then Isak snuggling closer, squinting at the camera.

There’s a video from when the boys helped paint their new house. Isak and Even are teasing each other and getting paint all over their clothes. They start kissing just before the camera pans to Mahdi who mimes shooting himself in the head.

There’s a video of Isak at Eid a few years ago, squashed in between Elias and Yousef who have their arms around him and gleefully ruffle his hair.

Graduations, piggybacks and birthday candles that cast a flickering glow. 

Bubble bath and clothes on the bathroom floor. Night walks by the water where Isak is wearing Even’s old denim jacket. They look so young. There he was with a black eye, when Even had picked flowers for his hair.

The moles on Isak’s skin, the dimples at his mouth. Some not-so-PG clips from a hotel room in Paris.

There’s a shaky mobile video of Isak at a party, tears streaming down his face.

“Why are you upset, baby?”

There’s indistinct music playing in the background and it’s difficult to hear Isak’s drunken babbling.

“I- I- remembered that- st-stupid film. About the tree, and the goat.”

“You mean Le Quattro Volte.”

Isak nodded mournfully.

“Poor baby.”

There’s some beautiful shots of a river they camped beside with Even’s parents; icy water dancing in the sun. There’s a bit of Isak, sleep rumpled, cradling a bowl of cereal in a green camping chair. Even is an incredible director and even this looks stunning, with a backdrop of early mist.

There’s no order to it, just memories and imagery flowing together, dreamlike.

Oslo, on foggy mornings and on nights where everything else is a silhouette against the brightness of the city. Their home: art materials and science books spread over the living room floor.

There’s a short clip of Isak drying plates with his mum in the dim light of her old house. The scene is peaceful and the window behind them frames a white sky.

Isak’s eyes are full of tears now and Even catches one with his thumb.

There’s a lot of them together, curled around each other every which way: at home, at parties. There’s one Eskild took on the sofa at the Kollektivet of Even asleep in Isak’s lap. Isak is looking down at him, reverent, stroking gently through his hair.

There’s a video of Isak trying to rap, and fuck if that’s not Jonas’ fault. Then there’s Eskild with an arm around each of them at Pride.

Trips to IKEA, Isak lying on the floor in frustration after they’d just built a wardrobe inside out. Eating pizza on the floor because they didn’t have a table. Their first Christmas tree, which was tiny, with a picture of Baz Luhrmann taped to the top.

Dust falling in front of their curtains. Isak’s curved back while he got dressed in the morning.

There’s a film Isak took of Even playing with Vilde and Magnus’ puppy, because it was just about the most adorable thing he’d seen in his life. Then there’s the clip of Isak losing to Sana at FIFA, which had been seen by their entire friend group, including Isak’s work colleagues.

Isak laughs but he’s crying, and he can’t stop the tears.

There’s a video of Even surprising him after work. He looks exhausted in his blue scrubs and the camera drops as Even takes him in his arms.

Then there’s the time Even cut his hand cooking dinner, and Isak bandaged him up at the table. He’s rolling his eyes at Even’s teasing and the fact that he’s filming Isak showing off his medical skills.

It’s too much. This is their life, and Isak never thought he would have anything like this.

Even, lying on Isak’s chest, Isak’s legs wrapped around him like a koala bear, his face buried in his hair. Soft touches and forehead kisses.

There’s a video Mikhail took of Even coming home from his year sabbatical. Isak had never seen it before. The airport is moving around them and they’re hugging so tight. Isak remembers that feeling: how much he’d missed him, how much he didn’t want to cry. How Even buried his face in his t-shirt so that nobody had to see.

Isak’s vision is blurring. His chest is so full it almost hurts and it’s all he can do not to start sobbing.

He barely registered that the film was just white now, and that Even had taken his hands so that they were both standing up.

Isak wiped uselessly at his eyes, but Even caught his hands again and held them in his.

“I wanted to do this here, to show you how far we’ve come.”

His voice was shaky and he waited a moment until Isak looked at him. There were tears in his eyes as well.

“Isak. I fell in love with you so easily, it was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t-“

He stopped, and tried again.

“I didn’t realise how much it was possible to love someone.”

Isak couldn’t handle this. It was too much. He didn’t know what was happening or what he had done to deserve the man in front of him.

“We’ve come so far, and I’m so proud of us. You make me a better person. You make me laugh so much. Everything is easier with you. All I want to do is make you happy. All I want to do is love you and wake up with you every single day.”

Even smiled at him.

“We’ve been together for 7 years, which is a really long time. I didn’t want to do this too soon. Minute by minute, remember?”

Isak nodded and Even brushed another tear from his cheek.

“We were always going to do this right, but there has never been a doubt in my mind that you are the only person I will ever want to ask this question.”

Even got down on one knee and Isak was properly sobbing now.

“Isak Valtersen, will you marry me?”

Isak couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t handle it. It had been a normal Friday, he thought they were going to get pizza or something. He didn’t think he’d get proposed to in his first home. Because it was. This was the first place that ever felt like home. Even felt like home.

“Fuck. Yes.” He choked, and that was all Even needed. He slipped a ring onto Isak’s finger and wrapped his arms around him tight, kissing at his tears.

“Yes. Oh my God, of course yes. I can’t. What the fuck Even, I had no idea.”

Even was smiling and his eyes were wet.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. So much.”

He couldn’t speak any more, so he wrapped his arms around Even’s neck and kissed him. It wasn’t their best, and soon they were smiling too hard to even continue, noses knocking.

“You really want to marry me?” Isak asked.

“Yes, idiot.”

He kissed him again.

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Even smiled impossibly wider and Isak’s heart was about to burst out of his chest.

“You’re incredible. This was incredible.”

“I think we missed 21:21 though”

Isak shook his head. “I don’t care.”

They stood in the faint white light of the projector, heads leant together. After a while Isak settled against Even’s shirt and they stayed there, swaying gently in the middle of their old bedroom. The sky outside was pitch black, and Isak suddenly felt how tired he was.

“I’m sorry it had to be a weeknight.” Even murmured. “You must be so tired, baby.”

“I’m fine.”

A few quiet minutes passed before Isak realised something.

“Even?” He asked. “…are we allowed to be here?”

Even chuckled. “Yes, we’re allowed to be here”

“Good.”

Even looked down at him.

“You thought this was a break-in, baby?”

“It could have been. That is how we started.”

Even laughed softly. “That’s true. Maybe I should have done that.”

“I think I’m fine with break-ins not being one of our things.”

Even kissed his temple and then the corner of his mouth.

“Whatever you say, baby.”

Isak turned his head to kiss him back, quickly getting lost in the feeling of it. Even ran his thumbs over Isak’s damp cheeks and held his jaw, kissing him deeply.

“They said. I could use it. On one condition” he said, in between kissing Isak.

“Hmmm?”

“That we wouldn’t have sex.”

Isak kissed him again, opening his mouth wider despite what Even had just said.

“That seems reasonable.” he murmured.

Even hummed, tilting Isak’s chin and kissing him deeper, so that Isak twisted his fingers helplessly in his hair.

“On the other hand” Isak breathed. “It’s not like they would ever find out.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading <3
> 
> Please let me know if you enjoyed it. This was a lot of work and comments mean the world!


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